I wasn’t crazy about last week’s episode, as it felt more predictable, somehow less intense than the much quieter pilot, and introduced several new characters who seemed like caricatures added just for the sake of manufactured conflict.

“Tell It to the Frogs” was an improvement. Some of the characterization still feels very two-dimensional, but by spending an episode with very little actual zombie activity, we at least got a lot of time getting to know many of the people at the camp on the outskirts of town. Some will need shading later, but some got it here, and since in “The Walking Dead,” as in many zombie stories, the true enemy is us, it’s important to get to know the living as well as to gawk at the dead.

In particular, three episodes into a six-episode season(*), we finally got to know more about Rick’s wife Lori, and the affair she and Shane have been having since the plague began. It turns out that the relationship has been built on a pretty spectacular lie – that Lori didn’t think she was cheating on the man who was still asleep in the hospital in Kentucky, but that Shane had told her Rick was dead. Whether he did that solely to get some post-apocalyptic sex with the desirable wife of his partner, or whether he just assumed Rick wouldn’t make it and made things sound definitive so Lori wouldn’t beat herself up about him remains to be seen, but it definitely complicates how we view Lori.

(*) For those who missed it, AMC unsurprisingly ordered a second season after the stellar premiere ratings were followed by a very slight drop for episode two – and that second season will have a more traditional 13 episodes. (They only did six this year so they could get it on the air for late fall.) So the pacing might be different. Gale Anne Hurd told me, for instance, that the reason they put so many of the supporting characters into the department store last week, when in the comic Rick and Glenn escape the city on their own, is because they didn’t feel comfortable waiting until the third out of only six episodes to introduce the bulk of their cast.

That sequence where she confronted him at the quarry was the strongest part of the episode for a few reasons. Again, it complicates things. It was a good moment for Sarah Wayne Callies and Jon Bernthal. The quarry itself is a pretty spectacular-looking location, and a credit to the location scout who found it. And the quarry sequence also featured the most interesting glimpse yet of how the world has changed beyond the obvious threat of the zombies, as Andrea, Amy and the other women began lamenting all the gadgets they missed and rightfully grousing about how the new world order had some very very old gender politics, with them handling the heavy domestic load while (only some) of the men played hunter-gatherer.

What we’re seeing – and, of course, what we see in many post-apocalyptic dramas – is that, contrary to some of the platitudes Rick offered last week, the calamity has given license to people’s worst instincts. Sexists have a new reason to justify their sexism, bigots have a new class of people to mistrust (even if they’re undead), abusive husbands have no law-enforcement to fear, and conversely angry ex-deputies have no reason to not savagely beat on those same abusers. There’s no structure and no safety net, save what people choose out of expediency, or save what the strong seize for themselves.

I still think some of the characterizations are quite broad, but overall “Tell It to the Frogs” reassured me that even though I’m not an inherent zombie fan, there’s definitely something here for me to grab onto going forward if they can tell the story well enough.

Some other thoughts:

• And speaking of broad, still not loving either Merle Dixon or his crossbow-wielding brother Darryl, but holy cow was that teaser – with a sunburned, delirious Merle alternately begging Jesus to save him and cursing out Jesus as the zombies banged on the door – great.

• The business with the antiquated CBs that can only communicate with each other seemed a contrivance to make Rick want to go back for the bag o’guns. I get that Rick also feels guilty about Merle – again, he’s been in the zombie world for much less time than everyone else, and it’s easier for him to hold onto his humanity – and that he needs a better story to sell to Lori and the others who hate Merle, but at some point if they want to warn people off of going into the city, wouldn’t it be easier/safer to just put up a bunch of warning signs on all the major freeways?

• I sure hope Darryl cleans his arrow heads in between using them to kill zombies and hunting food that the survivors are going to eat. And given that the zombies are drawn by the sound of gunfire, the crossbow does seem like the ideal weapon to have out there.

Finally, I had to delete a metric ton of comments from last week’s post for violating the No Spoilers rule I have on this blog. So for as long as I’m covering this series, I’m going to reiterate the basic points here at the end of every post:

1)No Spoilers.

2)This includes any discussion of the previews for the next episode.

3)This includes any discussion of storylines from the comic that haven’t happened yet in the timeline of the TV show. (And, yes, the show has and will continue to deviate from the comic in some ways, but for the sake of those instances where they’re going to be the same, I don’t want people talking about something from issue 30 when we’re watching episode 3.)

4)This includes anything you’ve seen or read elsewhere about anything that has not happened within the context of the episodes that have already aired.

Anything in violation of any of these points gets deleted. Nice and simple. Talk about what has already happened on the show, no more, no less.

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Great bounceback from a very disappointing 2nd episode. I was worried that the show was gonna be another Flashforward (an awesome pilot followed by a messy show), but this episode helped ease those worries.

By: ensignackbar

11.15.2010 @ 4:17 AM

The crossbow issue had me concerned too.

By: Dan

11.15.2010 @ 7:31 PM

Whoops. What I meant to say was that the cross bow actually bothered me for about half the show. Especially when it came not long after Rick was saying not to put zombie guts directly onto the skin.

By: wykstrad

11.16.2010 @ 2:09 AM

Readers of the comic know that it’s best to avoid tainted meat. And that’s not the spoiler you think it is.

By: Marc

11.15.2010 @ 4:25 AM

I have to say, Terrier and The Walking Dead are by far the most exciting new series of the Fall for me. Terriers for its understand and quiet brilliance, brilliant writing and acting.. I find The Walking dead to be juggling suspense, thrills and great character study with moral implications amazingly well. Plus I think its written, acted and shot beautifully. “Thirtysomething” is one of my all time favorite shows (LOST is too for similar reasons believe it or not). I like realistic, quiet character studies. I am kind of surprised that I’m loving a “zombie” show, but it just goes to prove it’s far more than that. Boardwalk Empire continues to bore me in all honesty. That doesn’t mean there aren’t good performances and sets etc. It’s just not all that compelling to me. AMCs three “hits” are far more compelling than anything HBO has done recently IMHO.

By: Jeremy

11.15.2010 @ 5:42 PM

I largely agree with this. I had high expectations for Boardwalk Empire, but while I enjoy watching it, I’m still not invested in any of its characters. I had no expectations for Terriers, but have found it to be quite entertaining and have surprising depth. Some of the little things haven’t worked for The Walking Dead, but as a whole I’m impressed with it and am eagerly looking forward to the next episode.

By: Josh

11.15.2010 @ 4:30 AM

That opening scene with Merle on the rooftop almost single-handedly made up for his terribly sloppy characterization in episode two. What a great piece of acting for Michael Rooker.

I hope the show starts to move Rick away from ‘noob’ status soon. I know not everyone has read The Zombie Survival Guide, but some of the shows attempts to make Rick more ‘humane’ than the other survivors makes me question not only his rationality, but also his abilities as a competent police officer.

Still a much better episode than last weeks, I agree.

By: Greg

11.15.2010 @ 9:37 AM

Co-sign. Jesus God that was a great performance. Before I realized Rooker was the actor doing it, I thought to myself “I’ll bet that was the side they had people trying out for Merle read.” I’m hoping they just flat-out hired Rooker. Because god damn.

By: AchillesHeald

11.15.2010 @ 4:33 AM

I too thought this episode was a major improvement than the last, although watching people kill zombies is always (for me) primally satisfying.

I wasn’t sure if Shane just assumed his partner was dead because he knew the hospital was overrun, or that he knowingly lied to Lori about Rick. One would be an unfortunate, but not malicious, assumption, while the other would make him very deserving of Lori’s stern warning. Did I miss something or was that left intentionally ambiguous?

Regardless of whether she thought he was dead or not, I can’t really sympathize with Lori. She may have just been using Shane as a coping mechanism…but immediately falling into a relationship with the best friend of your (dead or alive) husband is a pretty terrible thing.

Lastly, I’d like to apologize to Alan and the forum- I definitely talked about the comic last week…didn’t really think about that in spoiler terms. My bad, everyone.

By: eddie willers

11.15.2010 @ 4:48 AM

Shane said he was the one who got the survivors out of the hospital.

No other conclusion but that he knowingly left his best friend.

Whether cowardice or lust, still pretty shameful.

By: HitFix User

11.15.2010 @ 6:02 AM

I can bring the Shane hate with the best, but let’s think about it as rationally as you can in the middle of utter chaos. Rick is in a coma — how the hell are you going to get an unconscious man hooked up to life support out of the hospital? Where are you going to take him? Isn’t he going to be a liability? And what if he dies and you find you’ve got your very own zombie on your back?

By: Susan

11.15.2010 @ 5:46 PM

Eddie, my take was that Shane said he was the one who got Lori and Carl out of town, not the survivors out of the hospital. Though I could easily be misremembering that.

By: Anonymous

11.16.2010 @ 6:15 PM

So, I still hate Lori. I am a big fan of the comics, and I am used to siding with her, and hating Shane. However, the way the actors are portraying them, I have a new perspective, and it is very anti-Lori.
I just, got this feeling from Shane this week. It make me so sad for him,I never expected to be on his side.
I felt like the zombies were a-comming, and Shane knew Lori wouldn’t leave Rick behind, so he lied to save her and Carl. Noble, actually. Granted, he wanted her, but I always felt that he was really in love with her (even in the comics), and he was doing the best he could.
He was trying to distract Carl from all the misery of life, and was being a decent surrogate father figure with the frogs (which was NEVER about actually catching frog), and Lori freaked out. When Shane told her he was happy Rick was back, I believed it. I saw it in his eyes when Rick came back, that absolute pleasure of having your best friend back, coupled with the guilt of sleeping with his wife, and yes, sadness for what he was losing.

By: Bill

11.18.2010 @ 12:28 AM

I agree completely about how quickly and apparently, easily that Lori moved on with Shane. Maybe if they had shown her at least a little hesitant about sleeping with her husband’s best friend – zombies or no zombies – or mourning her husband’s death for a few days. But none of that was depicted. In fact, Lori seemed so comfortable with an intimate relationship with Shane that it led many fans to surmise that they must have had something going on before Rock was shot. Although that no longer seems to be true.

Frankly, I think the damage done to Sarah Wayne Callies’ character is probably irreparable. Same for Shane. And IMO, he didn’t seem all that happy to see Rick alive. He just looked disappointed and guilty. And if he told Lori that Rick was dead strictly for unselfish reasons, he did a lousy job defending himself down by the river. Again, he looked like a guy who knew he had done something really crappy. Early on in epi 1, Shane seemed really jealous of what Rick had with Lori and Carl. I think he wanted an instant family and didn’t care what he had to do to get it.

I wouldn’t mine seeing both Lori and Shane killed off before the end of S1 and Rick start a relationship (SLOWLY) with Andrea. I think they would make a great couple. However, I doubt that is the direction the show will go, unfortunately.

By: Sandra

11.18.2010 @ 2:01 AM

Oh PLEASE don’t let this into another AMC show where everyone gates the wife. I already hate reading the comments for Breaking Bad since the Sykler hate borders on sexism. If everyone starts hating on Lori, it will get very old very quick.

By: Sandra

11.18.2010 @ 2:04 AM

I meant “hates”-

By: OldDarth

11.15.2010 @ 4:39 AM

Not seeing the difference in quality between this and the second. Both were great. Calling the second predictable is like saying a cop show is predictable because it has cop cars, chases, and shoot outs.

First is definitely in a class by itself.

By: Remy

11.15.2010 @ 7:23 AM

I agree!! There was no difference in quality between the first and second episode at all. Both had me at the edge of my seat the entire time. Both give great insight into how Rick is trying to make immediate sense of this crazy world he has woken up into.

By: DJ

11.15.2010 @ 4:40 AM

Best show since ‘Lost’! I love it! They seemed to have nailed everything. Good actors, good dialog, good plot. It’s a pity that this season is only 6 episodes long. But one suggestion, if they ease up on the gore a bit, it may appeal to an even wider audience. Heck, I’m hoping for a season 3 already!

By: kabak

11.18.2010 @ 2:53 PM

wow. hyperbole much? name a character that stands out? its good but best? jeez

By: Brendan

11.15.2010 @ 4:47 AM

Really loved this one, with the one exception being the abusive husband who is utterly cliche and without any dimension whatsoever. He was literally the sum total of every ‘sexist abuser’ character ever. I get that this might be extremely accurate to how pieces of shit like this operate, but if you’re going to insert a character like that into your show or movie you NEED to find something new to the table. This guy isn’t cutting it.

But I think that it speaks to a larger issue I’m having with the show right now, something that I think is a byproduct of the episode order. There’s no calms before the various storms that blow into the camp, no moments of peace and quiet. It seems like everytime they cut back to the group, someone’s yelling and screaming or breaking rules or insulting other people. How does this place function as a society when everyone is constantly at each other’s throats?

That’s what NIGHT and DAWN did so well: as bad as things got in that farmhouse and the mall, Romero slowed things down at times to show you the people enacting plans, developing systems, being civilized. Not only did it give the biggest scumbags and hot heads moments to develop dimension, it also made the gutmunching and devolutions into violence hurt so much more because you as a viewer understand just how close these people came to making it out, if they hadn’t given in to their worst instincts.

Stupid people refer to these fleshing out parts as being ‘boring’ and unnecessary. There’s a real tendency in modern horror (and storytelling in general) to just skip to the juicy parts, but they’re missing a huge part of the equation. It’s the build ups, the lulls, the quiet anticipation that makes the blow ups so horrible/entertaining/fascinating.

WALKING DEAD certainly isn’t the worst offender, or even an offender really. But I think there’s something missing from the camp, and I think the missing thing is it’s hard for me to believe these people wouldn’t have murdered each other after a week.

This is something THE WIRE did incredibly well, was spend the first half of most of their seasons just establishing the business as usual grind of it’s sprawling cast, and then spending the back half taking a wrecking ball to the lives of the characters you’ve built up a ton of empathy for during the time when ‘nothing’ was happening.

Still though, the show is great and the issues I have are minor and get phased out as things progress.

By: Chris M

11.16.2010 @ 5:24 AM

Is this wife abuser any worse than early season-1 Jin, other than the fact that he speaks English? I’m willing to give them a few more episodes to see how they evolve him. This show reminds me of what I originally liked about Lost, in that it’s an interesting group of people in a world basically by themselves.

By: Anonymous

11.16.2010 @ 6:17 PM

@Chris M, no…he’s way worse. Jin didn’t hit Sun. Even at their worst, there was no physical abuse, just emotional.

By: David Z

11.15.2010 @ 4:49 AM

Why didn’t Merle just cut through the bar that he was handcuffed to?

By: Col Bat Guano

11.15.2010 @ 4:56 AM

Or just cut off his thumb rather than his whole hand. Also, how did Rick survive in the hospital?

By: Jackie D

11.15.2010 @ 5:24 AM

I was having that same thought… would you be able to just cut off… part of your hand to get it out of a hand cuff? The things this show makes me think about…

By: Mike

11.15.2010 @ 3:26 PM

I was really confused by this for multiple reasons. (1). Why the hand, not the bar? (2). why not the chain link of the handcuffs? Its seems it would take longer to cut off your own hand then to cut thru that pipe, plus you would probably pass out. It seems obviouis the zombies didnt make it on to the roof. Interested to see how he got off the roof.

By: Sam

11.15.2010 @ 4:03 PM

Isn’t there the ladder that Rick and Glenn used to get up there in the 1st place?

By: Mark

11.15.2010 @ 6:00 PM

I thought they left Merle’s fate kind of ambigious. Did he cut off his own hand or is that all that’s left? Seems there was enough of a gap for a few skinny zombies to squeeze through. The ladder was on a different building, they came out a door onto the alley then into the department store. Cutting through the hanger bolt would have been quicker and a lot less painful. Logic seems to fail frequently on this show.

By: rowan729

11.15.2010 @ 7:47 PM

Alrighty, here’s the deal on the cutting off of the hand bit. It is next to impossible to saw through handcuffs, especially with a regular old hacksaw. The metal of the cuffs and the bar they were attached to are way tougher substances than flesh and bone are. Think about it…..is your wrist as hard as steel? Nope, it’s soft and pliable, and if you cut at the joint, you don’t even have to saw through the bone. Just the flesh and tendons and stuff. Never mind the fact that those cuffs and metal bar would have worn down the teeth on the hacksaw so much that it wouldn’t even be useful to cut off his hand if those other options failed first.
Aron Ralston cut off his own arm with a DULL knife…..of course the hacksaw to the wrist was Merle’s best and quickest option. Plus, if he could manage to cut through the rusty bar, he’d have to carry that around attached to the cuffs, attached to his arm….and that would get old quick. Plus it might be noisy, and noise draws the geeks.
Although, this reason doesn’t deal with the fact that Merle would be trailing blood around, and the zombies would likely smell it…..

Kudos to those of you who predicted a “saw”-like solution to Merle’s situation. Nice call on that one!!!
That final reveal, along with the light-handed use of music at just the right moment, was killer! (giggle)

By: chudleycannonfodder

11.15.2010 @ 9:25 PM

Also, we’re all just assuming that he cut his hand off. What if another character cut Merle’s hand off? Whenever a show/movie makes it out to seem like there’s only one group of people left in existence, there’s always more. My prediction – we’re about to meet the Master to Rick’s Doctor (although since this is TWD I wouldn’t be surprised if the Master ended up dying right away).

By: Brendan

11.15.2010 @ 4:51 AM

Also this is just a guess, not an invitation to spoil stuff, but it probably doesn’t speak well to Emma Bell’s ongoing survival that she’s getting billed as guest star even though she’s on screen for much longer than guys like Jeff Demunn who are getting billed as stars.

By: HitFix User

11.15.2010 @ 5:50 AM

Not sure it really works like that – IIRC, she was signed fairly late in the day in a “recurring” role. That just mean she won’t be in every episode (and in a show with a fairly large ensemble cast, I rather doubt it be workable or affordable to have everyone getting screen time every week) not that her character is doomed to be zombie chow by the end of the season.

By: Kaseid

11.15.2010 @ 5:00 AM

What I am confused about is that the zombies can scratch them and they can be infected, but nobody worries about bashing their heads in and possibly getting the blood in a wound or their mouth. Otherwise, besides the mediocre acting I’m still intrigued by the story line and the social conflicts that are going on.

By: HitFix User

11.15.2010 @ 5:57 AM

OK, I don’t know about you but my primary concern would be about not being eaten alive by flesh-eating ghouls. And on second thoughts, I don’t know if I’d want to reduce my mobility and flexibility any more than absolutely necessary. If the zombies are intelligent enough to realise gun shots are a dinner bell, they should be perfectly capable of figuring out how to get through protective clothing when they’ve got you cornered.

By: qrter

11.18.2010 @ 3:43 AM

What are you talking about, “protective clothing”?

Surely Kaseid is referring to the lone zombie crawling close to the survivor camp, when everyone stands around it in a circle hacking away at it. Doesn’t seem the best idea if you’re trying to avoid getting splashed by highly contagious blood. Same goes for the previous episode, when Rick starts hacking a dead zombie to pieces, and everyone stands around in a close semi-circle – directly after he even delivered a speech about avoiding contact with blood.

I would think avoiding blood contact would be a HUGE deal, as it not only means death but even more danger for the rest of the group.

By: James

11.15.2010 @ 5:04 AM

Boardwalk Empire and The Walking Dead are the best shows on tv right now.

By: Kaseid

11.15.2010 @ 5:06 AM

If the zombies can infect the people just by scratching them, shouldn’t the living be scared that they can be infected when they bash their skulls in and blood goes everywhere? Such as getting it in their mouths or open wounds. Otherwise, besides the mediocre acting I’m really interested in the story line and social issues. I also keep thinking about Prison Beak every time I see Sarah.

By: Selly

11.15.2010 @ 5:07 AM

The series as a whole analyzes a lot the human actions and emotions that would take place in a post-apocalyptic world. Frank Darabont offers us a number of thinks to think about. The concepts presented in the show provide us with an interesting view of human nature. We see that even some of the “veteran” survivors have some remnants of compassion for human life. “Tell it to the frogs” I believe represented a strong case for this.
As in most zombie theatrics we see the involvement of the military. The helicopter most likely foreshadows this either later this season or next. I also think that Rick’s grenade will be put into effect soon enough.
Overall this show does what it needs to do. Entertain viewers. It has already been picked up by AMC for a second season. It appeals not only to the zombie fascinated fans who blindly follow any notion of the undead, but offers itself as an intellectual view of human nature in which machiavellian principles of “The end justifies the means” do not always apply. The acting is spotty at certain times but it’s what’s expected of a series in the early stages. It will be interesting to see how the series plays out and how many people hold on till next season.

By: Dudleys Mom

11.15.2010 @ 5:57 AM

This one was not as enjoyable for me. I’m glad some other people questioned the inconsistencies of bashing a zombie without worrying about blood, or reusing arrows w/o cleaning them. The teaser, as Alan noted, was the best part. Something was off with the whole sequence at the survivors’ camp (for me). Still like Glenn a lot, and it’s mostly pretty enjoyable. I don’t agree that it was an improvement from the second episode, which I really enjoyed. The gender stuff in particular felt really contrived.

By: Randam Poster

11.15.2010 @ 5:36 PM

I really thought this was the weakest of the three so far. Sorry, but a zombie movie without zombies is, well …. LOST. Too much lame dialogue between characters we don’t know enough about to care for. I’m sure it makes sense if you’ve read the comics but I haven’t (and won’t). Too many caricatures and too much rush to get us to care about some of these auxiliary characters. We watch this show for zombies and the lack thereof, is not all that interesting. Especially in a show where the lead character acts like he’s really in a coma. No charisma. No charm. I’m excited for the future of the show, but this one lost me. Excuse the pun.

By: Guested

11.15.2010 @ 9:52 PM

@Random Poster. You will probably be continually dissapointed as the series progresses. The Walking Dead isn’t about the Zombies. It’s about the people. In the comic, there are long stretches where the living don’t see a single zombie. Now obviously as a tv show, this will probably have more interactions with the dead but it won’t be every single episode.

By: Samantha

11.15.2010 @ 6:05 AM

As someone who’s been it, the quarry is awesome! Right outside Atlanta actually.

By: KarenX

11.15.2010 @ 7:08 AM

I just thought it was funny that of the two zombies we saw up close and personal in the episode Man Be Hunting and Woman Be Shopping.

By: JamesG

11.15.2010 @ 7:27 AM

I liked this episode a lot more than the second, but not quite as much as the premiere. I think this show is much stronger when it depicts the adaptability of humans in a post-apocalyptic world than as a pure zombie action program. The deliberate pacing and real world discussions (like the way they miss all the technological conveniences) really works for me.

My one qualm about this show, other than the inconsistent quality of the actors, is the sound effects. I think they’re way too fake during fight scenes and feel like the “pisshh” types punching effects we would get in the old Batman TV show or something. It was noticeable almost to the point of comedy during episode 2’s zombie dissection.

By: Jason

11.15.2010 @ 9:09 AM

>The business with the antiquated CBs that can only communicate with each other seemed a contrivance to make Rick want to go back for the bag o’guns.

Not a huge contrivance. There’s been a lot of debate about the feds selling off pieces of the wireless communications (part of the changeover to digital televison), because local police and emergency agencies say that threatens their ability to talk to each other.

I would like to second Jason’s point here-too many law enforcement agencies here in the US still rely on old equipment. One of the local towns around me recently updated their dispatch system…..it was almost a century old. Yikes. Old communication equipment was exposed as a problem in the wake of 9/11 and the fed LEA’s are currently tasked with solving this problem by updating the systems nationwide. So while it did seem highly convenient, it’s actually pretty factually accurate.

I really enjoyed this episode and all the plot developments so far….lots of promise for this show!

By: Dale Cooper

11.15.2010 @ 11:15 AM

A very good step-up from last week.

Did anyone else think that the music in the final montage (starting with Shane beating up Ed) was strangely similar to the music in the EPIC warehouse scene from Kick-Ass? I think it would have benefited to use the same song rather than a slightly altered version.

By: Truck

11.15.2010 @ 6:26 PM

Jesus, are you kidding? That song is by John Murphy and was written for 28 Days Later. Kick-Ass just re-used it because it’s such a good “heinous shit is going down” song. And yes, whoever wrote the song at the end of this episode was definitely riding Murphy’s coattails.

By: jimmyrox

11.15.2010 @ 1:40 PM

I’ll echo David Z.’s question above: Maybe I’m missing something, but (if you have a hacksaw) why not cut through the handcuff chain or the bar it’s attached to? Why cut off your hand? And where was the blood? And how did he get off the roof? I apologise if this is resolved in the comic or in future episodes (don’t want to get anyone in trouble)– but everything about that final scene had me scratching my head.

By: Jim A.

11.15.2010 @ 2:46 PM

Merle and his brother are characters created exclusively for the show, so those of us who have read the comic are just as in the dark as the rest of you. ;)

By: Kelly

11.15.2010 @ 6:09 PM

If the saw was dull it may not have been possible to cut through the metal and flesh/bone is much easier, but I think it’s more likely that he was delusional like at the beginning of the ep.

By: Joel

11.15.2010 @ 8:12 PM

I would agree the logic of the scene could have been better developed, but apparently no one here has ever tried to cut through reinforced steel with a hacksaw. It isn’t easy, especially if the metal you’re trying to cut through is in an awkward position. Merle saw the zombies coming, he was delusional, and he probably quickly surmised his wrist was easier than his other options.

I’m dying to know how he got off the roof. My guess is he crawled into a ventilation duct, since even if there were a ladder climbing down would be extremely diffcult (now) and where would he go anyway? On the street with an open wound?

By: M

11.15.2010 @ 3:03 PM

I’ve felt pretty underwhelmed by this so far. The pilot seemed pretty strong but its been downhill since then for me.
What’s with the lack of ‘Dexter’ coverage lately?
I’m really enjoying this season especially Julia Stiles and the other unexpected (for me at least) guest stars, I think it’s done a pretty good job of giving them all decent roles.

By: rexmism

11.15.2010 @ 3:56 PM

Agree on both points. I thought Alan was going to post at least something on Dexter every week. He’s done nothing for what, 4 or 5 episodes?
As for Walking Dead, yes, very underwhelming. Am I the only one to think most of the actors are pretty lousy? (That makes two awful accounts of “You son of a -” so far.) It’s really feeling like an unimpressive B movie to me. Lots of things not making sense. Rick’s wife tells him to go back to the city, then is suddenly like, really, you’re going back? And the scene with her and Shane, don’t you think he’d sort of be, oh, sorry I told you your husband is dead. The dialog there is all designed to surprise the audience, and it doesn’t make sense. Can’t believe everyone is loving it so much.

By: M

11.15.2010 @ 5:53 PM

If anyone is interested, Andrew Lincoln (The lead actor) was pretty good in a show here in the UK called teachers.

By: qrter

11.18.2010 @ 3:45 AM

He was even better in a UK show called “This Life”.

Regarding “The Walking Dead” – I actually believe the actors aren’t to blame that much, the dialogue up til now has been pretty terribly written.

By: Dan

11.19.2010 @ 8:46 PM

(Rexmism) “Rick’s wife tells him to go back to the city, then is suddenly like, really, you’re going back?”

She was clearly being passive-agressive when she said that he was going back into the city. Any married man should realize that.

By: Mike

11.15.2010 @ 3:35 PM

Not quite sure why they want to dismantle all the cars for parts for the old RV. You think they would want to bring cars back with them for use in supply runs, quick getaways, etc.

By: Blake

11.15.2010 @ 3:47 PM

I desperately want this show to be good, but since the pilot it hasn’t been.

The comic never goes for the easy one-dimensional characterization, and that includes of Rick, who is much more interesting when he’s not a simplistic Western hero.

The saga of Carol is one of the most interesting parts of the comic. But here, the screenwriters have objectified her. She’s not complex; she’s a victim we’re told to sympathize with.

I wish the producers would go back and read the comic and pay attention to how it trusts its readers to handle flawed heros.

By: JWIII

11.15.2010 @ 3:52 PM

I’m not quite sure they want you to sympathize wit her. They presented a scenario which allows the audience to interpret the decisions made.

If anything I think she is complex. She obviously is seeking a strong male figure but has resorted to denial since Rick is back. This is hinted at by her comments about Rick’s ego which is more characteristic of the current leader.

By: JWIII

11.15.2010 @ 4:01 PM

I don’t care about the comic series rather whether the show works and is fresh for a zombie interpretation. As it stands, it isn’t. The first two episodes felt like traditional zombie troupes. This third one continued that but felt more unique probably due to character exploration (which in itself isn’t that original).

They need a drastic change of atmosphere. There is no real sense of danger, no fear even when faced against zombies bursting through a door. It’s not necessary the acting which is great, it’s more the camera work and lighting suggestions.

They need to amplify the results of the world collapsing and the raging zombies. All that dead flesh would create diseases beyond turning into a zombie.

I agree with other commenters on the absurdity of puling an arrow out without any desire to clean it.

I wouldn’t put it pass a hick to cut off his hand instead of his thumb but wouldn’t he bleed out if he cut off the entire hand as he did? Plus add the lack of food and water, he should be delirious if not blacked out.

By: qrter

11.18.2010 @ 3:50 AM

I agree – I haven’t felt any kind of tension in any of the 3 episodes. If you’re going to do a post-apocalypse story, regardless of whether it’s a book, a film or on TV, you have to be prepared to make it really bleak, to be really ruthless. This series is more like a soap opera about the end of the world.

By: Anonymous

11.15.2010 @ 4:26 PM

I think Alan’s comment about why they introduced all those characters in the second episode really speaks to why this worked so well as a comic, where actors don’t need to be considered. The pacing of this show is still bothering me somewhat, and I really am worried the showrunners are afraid to trust the audience.

By: Anonymous

11.15.2010 @ 4:36 PM

I am still enjoying the show, but little things are bothering me. The first is the location, Atlanta is not an isolated urban area, the suburbs surrounding Atlanta are sprawling, I don’t see why you would need to go to downtown for anything when you should have major retail areas in safer spots to go loot.

Plus honestly the population of the area means you should have a lot more zombies.

By: Save RUBICON

11.15.2010 @ 5:21 PM

Hey everyone, here’s a “Bring Back Rubicon” icon I’ve made. Feel free to grab it, post it, share it, include with your letters to AMC. Get the word out that AMC doesn’t care about quality programming.

i cried a little bit last night during the commercial break when they showed the ‘amc originals’ spot.

couldn’t believe they’d cancel rubicon last week but keep clips from it in the commercial. why don’t you twist the knife a little harder next time?

By: dan

11.15.2010 @ 5:43 PM

Save RUBICON – I loved me some “Rubicon,” but I’m gonna have to take a while to reflect on the phrase “AMC doesn’t care about quality programming.” Should I reflect while watching my “Mad Men” DVDs or my “Breaking Bad” DVDs? Or just while rewatching last night’s “Walking Dead”?

I have definitely been wondering about AMC’s care for quality while watching the last two episodes of Walking Dead, which maybe other than the level of gore, would fit perfectly on CBS. CBS, LIZ LEMON!! Walking Dead is in such stark contrast to Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and yes, even the cancelled Rubicon, that I’m a little worried AMC might get too hungry for popular, watered-down content. I’m not saying it’s horrible, but I’m not sure any of us would be sticking with this show if it weren’t about zombies.

By: Whiners

11.15.2010 @ 9:25 PM

People whining about Rubicon cancellation as a sign of AMC declining need to get off their high horse. Rubicon had low numbers and it wasn’t the critical darling some fans believe it was in its postmortem. Simple.

As for the Walking Dead, maybe not be everyone’s cup of tea but people aren’t just sticking around because it’s a show about zombies. It’s popularity is due to a lot thing. Yes hype and zombies play into it, but also the source material, and *gasp* some people actually do legitimately enjoy it. The Walking Dead is far from a terrible show yet some people seem mad it’s successful right now. Very weird.

By: kabak

11.18.2010 @ 2:54 PM

lets face it. rubicon was pretty average. and we should have known that from the start when they fired the creator and writer n replaced him with a hack.

I must say, I’m quite surprised by these numbers. I didn’t think the show would reach the 5 million mark again during this short season.

By: DennisK

11.15.2010 @ 9:24 PM

A nice nice rebound from ep2 which had some terrible dialogue and acting.

By: Jo

11.15.2010 @ 9:16 PM

I’m a little concerned that there may be too many backwoods bigots on this show. With the addition of the misogynistic husband and Merle’s brother, we now have three a-hole characters who could (seemingly) have been wrapped into one.

Also, I just can’t get over the fact that Rick isn’t asking more questions. Doesn’t he wonder how the whole zombie apocalypse happened?

By: Guested

11.15.2010 @ 10:06 PM

@as for Rick not asking how it all started. I believe Kirkman has said he doesn’t plan on ever explaining how the outbreak started. So unless they contrived an explanation for the tv series, it would be pointless for Rick to ask.

By: qrter

11.18.2010 @ 3:54 AM

It might be pointless to ask, but I sure would expect him to ask, anyway.

Even basic questions like ‘how long ago did this all start’, ‘how quickly did it develop’ and ‘have you heard anything about other parts of the world’.

By: Oz P

11.15.2010 @ 10:20 PM

How great would it be if Merle had another brother named Darryl?

By: David

11.15.2010 @ 11:50 PM

where on the planet can anyone watch this show.. I hate AMC you would think it would be on their website at least… fustrated trying to find the last epesode.

By: guest

11.16.2010 @ 12:19 PM

Wasn’t the hospital in Georgia, not Kentucky? I guess all those southern states just run together for those on the Coasts. Or do they just run together for the folks writing the show?

By: Pork Chop Sanchez

11.16.2010 @ 4:06 PM

man, sepinwall. you sure nitpick the hell out of this show. is it due to your zombie disdain, which you feel the need to remind us of every single recap? its funny that a lot of the things you nitpick on this show, you give passes on with other shows that better fit your preferred genres and settings.

By: sepinwall

11.16.2010 @ 4:59 PM

Yay! The nitpicking complaint! Haven’t heard that one in a while. Always one of my favorites in its many misuses.

I often mention the zombie disclaimer because the sense I’ve gotten from a lot of people is that they are watching the show 100% because they love the genre, and are therefore going to enjoy it irrespective of its specific quality. Whereas I can take or leave zombie stories, and am trying to see if there’s a good show here underneath the cool makeup and whatnot. And there are certain shows like this where if I don’t occasionally use that kind of disclaimer, people complain that they just wanna see zombies/vampires/werewolves/newts/etc.

By: Bethany Van Nuys

11.16.2010 @ 4:46 PM

I’m finding it kind of irritating that ALL the one-dimensional a-hole characters are rural lower-class white people and all the rural lower-class white people are one-dimensional a-holes. I hope they change that.

By: Bmike

11.16.2010 @ 7:28 PM

The more I think about it I can’t understand the no spoilers rule. Since the “next week on” segment is part of the show every week, isn’t it in fact put there to create interest and discussion? They generally are uninformative and misleading anyway but they seem as much a part of a weekly episode as the actual show. Just curious.

By: sepinwall

11.16.2010 @ 7:45 PM

Some previews (which the creative team has little to nothing to do with, and are usually put together by the network’s promotion department) are uninformative and/or misleading, while others give away the store the way most movie trailers do these days. On shows where I’m not watching screeners, I’ve made it a habit to stop watching before the previews play. I’m much happier that way.

By: earthdogue

11.17.2010 @ 8:29 AM

I think Merle after snagging the hacksaw with the belt used the belt as a tourniquet so he would not bleed to death though he seemed quite delusional at times so how he had enough sense to do that must be down to dumb luck if that is he what he did. I don’t think if the zombies got onto the roof would be so inspired to squeeze back through the door since there was not a food source awaiting them going back down stairs.

Also going back to episode 2 can’t believe that was not some sort of screen over that shaft on the roof the key fell down, the bag of tools being knocked over was soooo obvious, and weren’t the zombies moving faster than they should after Rick & Glenn besides climbing the chain link and not just standing there rattling it in frustration. Seemed un-zombie like to me but then I am not an expert! *g*

By: mattlac

11.17.2010 @ 8:40 AM

Episode two was kind of lame because every single character other than Glenn who was introduced, sucked. Whiney chick? check, hispanic guy who has no other character trait other than being hispanic? check. Not to mention generic racist guy and the idiot who was the subject of his racism. And all of this culminates in an embarrassing chain of events which ended with the key falling down the drain. I mean, if you wanted to stage things so that the guy ends up on the roof chained up, there were a hundred less ridiculous ways to do it. Why they chose the dumbest, most audience insulting way, is beyond me.

This episode has a lot of lazy writing in it, and a good 50 percent of the characters so far are either superfluous or just plain non-sensical, but it was definitely an improvement. Neither episodes come close to touching the quality of the premier, however.

By: qrter

11.18.2010 @ 3:38 PM

Oh man, I *hated* the whole key-down-the-drain thing. I thought this was supposed to be a show about having to make hard moral choices, only to have one of the first ones instantly negated by chance.

By: Tom Brady

12.12.2010 @ 2:08 AM

To QRTER’s point, it might’ve been more interesting to not actually see the key fall down the drain. I would’ve liked if they cut away from T-Dog as he was making a decision on what to do; after he tells the group that the key went down the drain, but we don’t know for sure. Then they’d find it in the drain later and know he wasn’t lying. Would’ve made for more tension and more interesting character development.

By: daniel

11.17.2010 @ 9:13 AM

The opening scene was so amazing that everything else was a letdown thereafter. I find myself feeling the zombie drama to be much more real and investing than the human to human drama thus far.

By: They'reComingToGetYouBarbara

11.19.2010 @ 4:47 AM

Not having read the comic I’m definately feeling the Stand vibe with this show, as for the zombie precedents you need look no further than this for best method of dispatching of rooftop post-apocolyptic variety:[www.youtube.com]

I’m wondering if Merle got to the bag of guns first?

Don’t know which comment i laughed at more Bill Murray’s 9 holes at the Riviera or Merle’s other brother Darryl, OMG you guys are hilarious

By: Froide

03.26.2013 @ 2:59 AM

I’m currently watching the rerun. How poignant was Shane’s sense of aloneness and the ways he tried dealing with it.

By: Froide

03.26.2013 @ 3:32 AM

The Georgia quarry used in this scene reminds me of one in Pennsylvania, where my scuba diving club camps and dives. The idea of going there again gives me the creeps, now.